Improvement in machines for pointing the journals of bobbins



I D. M. CHURCH. Machines fur Pointingihe Journals of Bohhins. N0.138,789, Patented May 13,1873..

AM PHOTO -LIT/10GIPAPHIC ca 51.).(ossomvz PRacEs) UNITED STATES PATENTCFFICE.

DWIGHT M. CHURCH, OF HOLYOKE, MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGNOR TO TIMOTHYMERRICK, OF SAME PLACE.

IMPROVEMENT IN MACHINES FOR POINTING THE JOURNALS 0F BOBBINS.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 138,789, dated May13,-1873; application filed May 17, 1872.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, Dwren'r M. CHURCH, of Holyoke, in the State ofMassachusetts, have invented an Improvement in Machines for Pointing theJournals of Bobbins; and I do hereby declare that the following, takenin connection with the drawing which accompanies and forms part of thisspecification, is a description of my invention sufficient to enablethose skilled in the art to practice it.

My invention has been devised to meet the need of having perfectly trueand central bearings or pivots for the small wooden bobbins forsewing-machine shuttles, lately successfully introduced by me to thesewing-machine trade; and it forms one of a series of machines inventedby me, all contributing toward the perfection of such bobbins, or to theperfect and true automatic winding of the same.

In order to make these bobbins cheap enough to warrant their beingthrown away after their thread has been used from them, so that the timeand labor of the sewing-machine operator need not be wasted in refillingthem, they must be made of cheap material, usually of.

soft wood like pine, &c., and which may be made and truly operatingmechanism to point or journal the ends of the bobbins without destroyingor injuring the blank; and these points or journals must be in trueaxial line, otherwise the bobbin in unwinding will, if at all eccentricin the shuttle, have a crank movement and strike the wall of the shuttlewith its flan ges, or jump at every revolution; or, if its ends orjournals be in different lines it will wabble, and in either case itwill hold less thread and refuse to deliver its thread evenly anduniformly. All bobbins for a particular class of machines, or for agiven grade or size of the same class, should also be perfect facsimilesof each other, as far as practicable, as to their length from tip to tipof the journal, and as to the size of the journal, so that whenpurchased by thev companies by the hundred gross, or other largequantity, none or rarely any shall fail to be adapted for the shuttlefor which it may have been designed.

My present invention has for its object the pointing or journaling ofthese bobbins; it being premised that the bobbin, as to its heads andbarrel, has been previously made in other machines, its journals onlybeing left in blank or unfinished, to be brought to their final shapeand finish in my present machine now to be described.

In the drawing, Figure 1 is a plan view of the machine; Fig. 2, across-section in the irregular line 00 x, the bobbins in the troughshowing their journals in their unfinished or unpointed state; Fig. 3,an end view of the cutter-head with the centerin g-thimble in placetherein; Fig. 4, a longitudinal section of the same Fig. 5, a plan ofone of the cutter-heads and its knife and rabbets, the thimble beingremoved; Fig. 6, a side view, showing the cutter-head shank in theshaft; and Fig. 7, bobbins, showingthe two forms of journals in use.

A 'is the frame of the machine; B, thecamshaft 0 C, the cutter-headshafts; D D, the

pulleys for driving them by means of belts,

not shown, for connecting them with any drivin g-shaft. The cutter-headshafts are arranged to have a short longitudinal movement in the line oftheir axes, the same being imparted intermittently by cams F F, throughthe medium of levers CG and springs g g, an adjustment of the cams onthe shaft or of the fulcrum-posts of the levers permitting an adjustmentof the extent of this longitudinal movement, and adapting the action ofthe cutters for spools of different lengths. The camshaft may be drivenfrom any proper source of power, and in any well-known manner. H is thefeed or bobbin-carrying wheel, which receives the bobbins one by one,conveys them one by oneto the cutter-heads, presents them in theirproper position to be acted upon, and holds them there until the cuttershave properly pointed or finished the journalsall ready for theirreception in the shuttle. Like kindred wheels, in some other classes ofmachinery, it is made with equidistant notches around its periphery. Inmy wheel these notches are adapted to receive the barrels of thebobbins, the heads of the bobbins not entering the notch or groove. Thewheel is also made with a peripheral groove to receive at its upper parta strap-to hold the bobbins, as hereinafter stated. The notches aresomewhat broader at their mouth than at their base, the better tofacilitate the dropping therein of the barrel. Adjustable guides 4 4serve to receive a column or tier of bobbins, which are supplied theretoby the attendant, (usually a child at small wages,.) the under one ofthe series, each after the other, successively passing from theseinclined guides into the next succeeding notch of the wheel. Theseguides are both equally adjustable, by slots and setscrews, as seen, toaccommodate bobbins of different lengths. Other adjustable guides, 5 5,somewhat in advance of the first and on opposite sides of a portion ofthe wheel, serve to bring the ends of the bobbin as it approaches thecutters into true relation to the space between the cutter-heads beforethe latter approach each other to point or finish the journal. Ametallic strap, 6, extends over part of the wheel, as seen, it beingadapted to the groove in the periphery, and under this strap the barrelof each bobbin passes on its way to the cutters. This strap is supportedat one end by a sleeve upon a pin, 7, projecting from the side of one ofthe adjustable guides, 5, and at its other end by an arm, 8, projectingfrom the under side of the table; and its function is to assist inholding the bobbins to place in the wheel until operated upon anddischarged, a lever, 10, operated by a cam, 11, on the camshaft againstthe force of a spring, 12, serving at its forward end positively topress this band firmly down upon each bobbin in succession at the periodwhen the cutters are operating upon it.

it will be understood that the intermittent actions of the feed'cuttersand lever are timed coincidently for proper joint action.

The peculiar construction of the cutter-heads, which are the vital partof my invention, and to which my other improvements herein described aresubordinate, I shall describe hereinafter in detail.

In order to give uniform intermittent rotary motion to the feed'wheel, Iemploy a spur or projection, 13, on an adjustable sleeve, 14, on thecam-shaft, which at every revolution pulls backward, against the forceof a spring, 15, a slide-rod, 16, whose forward end has a pullingpawlwhich is hung loosely and drops by its own gravity, and which engageswith the teeth of the ratchet-wheel 18 on the feed-wheel shaft 17, thusturning such wheel a determinate distance only at each revolution of thecam-shaft, such feeding action being timed relatively to the action ofthe cutters and the pressing action of the lever.

In order to accommodate the machine for pointing or finishing thejournals of bobbins of different sizes and diameters, so that they shallalways be presented to the cutters with their axes in the same line withthe axes of the cutter-heads, the shaft of the feed-wheel is hung in asleeve or bearings, 18, upon a vertically-adj ustable slide or plate,19, the adj ustment being effected by a thumb-screw, 19, as seen, whilean adjustable stop-pin or screw, 20, controllable from above the table,limits at will the point to which the feed-wheel may be raised. Afriction-wheel, 21, and strap 22, on the feed-wheel shaft, assist ingiving steadiness of motion and prevent back-lash. Instead of this wheeland strap, a lever may be used, worked by a cam on the shaft, and havingon its forward end a pin which shall intermittently enter one of aseries of holes in the carrying-wheel, so as to positively lock it foreach operation of pointing a bobbin, the same or a spring-cam serving tounlock it.

The stocks of the cutter-heads 23 enter sockets in their respectiveshafts, being secured thereto in any well-known manner so as to berevolved thereby. The heads are both alike, and each is made with asmall central cavity to receive as it is cut the central tip or journalof the bobbin. I have shown in Fig. 4 such cavity adapted for a conicaljournaled bobbin; but when a cylindrical or nearly cylindrical tip isgiven to the journal this cavity is made conformable thereto, it beingunderstood that there are but two kinds of journals made for shuttlebobbins, namely, the conicallypointed and those which are styledcylindrical, these two forms of journals adapting them for use in allthe varieties of shuttles used in sewin g-machines.

Each head is also provided with a concentric cavity, 24, to receive aremovable thimble, 25, with an open lateral cut, 26, to permit the freedischarge of the chips, and a small outlet, 27, from its central cavity29 to permit the free discharge of dust and prevent any clogging of thesame therewith. This conical cavity must coincide with the conical tipwhich the journal'is to receive, otherwise the knife would not performproperly its duty. The knife, which is removable by means of a set-screwor otherwise, serving to hold it to place, is shown at 29* in Figs. 5and 6. The thimble 25 is made with a flange, 25*, a concentric cavity,28, adapted to receive snugly and centrally the head of the bobbin, anda central hole of smaller diameter adapted toreceive centrally and trulythe journal to be pointed or finished, and to permit the same as thecutter acts upon it to pass inwardly ,until finished, the cavity andthe. hole always acting to keep the axis of the bobbin in true line withthe axes of both cutter-heads. This thimble is in fact a double guide ininsuring this perfect axial line, its larger opening guiding the head ofthe bobbin, and the smaller one its journal, and both guiding in accordand in aid each of the other, while the central cavity in thecutter-head is a third guide acting in aid of both. In this way absolutecertainty is attained of making perfectly-true journals.

Instead of the thimble, above described, a face-plate having a cavity toadmit and guide mswso 3 the journal to be pointed orfinished may beused; but I prefer the thimble, as thereby I attain more perfectresults.

To change a cutter, I remove the screws 30 30, which hold the thimble toits place.

It is evident that, if desired, bobbins of other material than woodsuchas ivory, hardrubber, papier-mach, &c., or even soft metals may bepointed by my apparatus; but for the purposes of cheapness and facilityof working and making them with great rapidity, in order to produce forthe whole sewing-machine market a bobbin wound already for use, andwhich, though afterward thrown away when emptied, will be found cheaperin money and in saving of time and trouble than any mode of supplying ashuttle-thread heretofore known, I prefer to make them of wood, asheretofore stated.

In actual practice, it is found that with a small child to supply themachine with the unfinished bobbins, at a cost of, say, fifty cents aday for wages, sixty per minute can be pointed, or two hundred gross perday of eight hours, being one-fourth of a cent .per gross.

1. In a machine for pointing or finishing the journals of sewing-machineshuttle-bobbins, the cutter-heads provided with the removable circularthimble or face-plate 25, adapted to be inserted in the cutter-heads,and to receive the heads or journals of the bobbins as shown anddescribed.

2. The thimble 25 constructed with a flange, 25*, or its equivalent,serving to lodge it concentrically in the cutter-head, a concentriccavity, 28, serving to receive and guide the head of the bobbin, and asmaller central and concentric opening, 29, servingto receive and guidethe journal to be finished.

3. The combination, with the two continuously revolving butintermittently sliding shafts carrying cutters for journaling orpointing both ends of small bobbins, of an intermittently-rotatin gbobbin-feeding wheel, adapted to receive and carry the bobbins fed in atits periphery, substantially as shown and described.

4. The combination, with mechanism for simultaneously pointing orjournaling both ends of the bobbin, of an intermittently-rotatingfeed-wheel provided with adjustable bearings, the combination beingsubstantially as and for the purpose described.

5. The combination of two cutter heads, each mounted on a separate andadjustable shaft in the same axial line, with the separately-adjustableside guides 5 5 for guiding and positioning .both ends of the bobbin inits passage to the cutters.

6. The combination, with the described feedwheel having the peripheralnotches to receive the bobbin-barrels and the peripheral flanged groove,of the strap for holding the bobbins to place upon the wheel, as setforth.

7. In combination with the feed-wheel and holding-strap, theintermittently-acting lever for pressing positively upon each bobbin successively while its journal is being pointed or journaled. a,

8. The combination of the adjustable and inclined feed-guides 4 4 withthe intermittently-acting feed-wheel and its holding-strap,substantially as shown and described.

9. The combination of a bobbin feeding guide, 4, a bobbin-feeding wheel,H, and mechanism, substantially as described, for finishing or pointingthe journals of sewing-machine bobbins ready for use in the shuttle."

' DWIGHT MADISON CHURCH.

Witnesses:

TIMOTHY MERRIOK,

' O. W. RIDER.

